Google reportedly turning Web game into TV show

The Information’s sources (via The Verge) claim Google and its in-house game studio Niantic Labs is working with production firm, the Sean Daniel Company, in order to develop the concept for TV.

The insanely popular augmented reality game from Google’s Niantic Labs, titled “,” is playable on a smartphone or tablet and has been the center focus for many people for a varied set of reasons ranging from new engagement and interactions with other players, many of them who they’ve never met before resulting in newly formed friendships and relationships, to a backlog of lore that keeps the game interesting. It was an interesting experiment and surprisingly the game proved to be something of a cult hit where a quick search on Google+ shows that engagement does not appear to be slowing down, so much so that a report from The Information (paywall; via Android Police) has suggested that Google is thinking about taking the game and turning it into a TV show. That’s the company behind The Mummy movie franchise and a new show The Expanse, a miniseries about to debut on the ScyFy network in the United States.

Ingress has blown up since its release, more so than many people probably expected, and while it seems like things might slow down now that Niantic has already been in development of a new AR game, Ingress is only continuing to grow and Google is said to have some new plans for the franchise. For those unfamiliar with Ingress, the science-fiction game involves gamers on iOS and Android traveling to actual locations (landmarks, monuments, etc) called ‘portals’ as if they were working as real world operatives. The Information says that Niantic is looking at traditional TV networks or streaming video services like Netflix, but that it hasn’t actually pitched the show to them and is still looking for a showrunner. According to The Information and sources that “have been involved with the discussions,” Google is setting out to take Ingress to the next level and elevate its popularity out of just mobile devices and move it into TV.

Now we’re sure some of you guys are thinking that this sounds like Google could be making the move into TV/movies, kind of like what Amazon and Netflix have done in terms of creating original content. It certainly sounds like a lot to invest just to give players a more “intimate” connection, but we suppose we do see the potential of such a movie. For now there are no official details from Google or Niantic, and there has been no mention about when an Ingress TV show could actually air should the project come to fruition. Game of Thrones is one of his vices, and you can usually find him playing a match of League of Legends or some other game during parts of his free time.

Ingress’ plot has loose ties to Endgame, so technically, this is all part of some huge story that can be traced back to one of the world’s most influential corporations.